Sex business hits record low in Medan

Sex business hits record low in Medan

By Efendy Naibaho

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Gone are the days when 700 men to
1,000 men descended each night on Sicanang island, near the
Belawan International Seaport. Now, figures barely pass 300, and
panderers and sex workers here are quite sad.

Zainuddin Sinaga, operator of a one-hectare prostitution
complex on Sicanang, told The Jakarta Post that business turnover
had entered its worst level in its 10-year existence.

"Some of the brothel operators here have shut their businesses
because of the minimal number of people visiting the complex."

There used to be 40 "barracks" in the area, each housing five
rooms to 10 rooms. Eight barracks have closed since the crisis
hit last year.

Zainuddin, who also owns a barrack with five "girls", said the
worst-hit sector was liquor sales, which only reached a Rp
100,000 (US$7) gross income per night.

"It used to be Rp 300,000 net per night," he said.

Sicanang became a red-light area when prostitutes were moved
out from Belawan. Each barrack is equipped with a minibar, with
audio equipment and lighting. Here, visitors drink beer or whisky
while listening or dancing to disco and dangdut music.

Now, a woman can go for days without customers. The women,
young and older, hail from various regions in North Sumatra,
including Tanjung Balai and Kisaran, and also from Java.

"Some of the women have just disappeared," Zainuddin said, as
visitors have decreased since the crisis and riots. Nearby, mobs
burned down a fishery warehouse and a trawler recently.

Some of the remaining women are coming up with new ways to
lure men. Lina (not her real name), 19, is busy running her new
toto (Chinese lottery) stall, in front of her barrack.

"Which number are you betting on?" she asked. A higher fee of
Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 is not helping to attract men.

In a red-light area at Jl. Nibung Raya, in Petisah Tengah,
Medan, is becoming more livelier than usual. This area is crowded
with hotels, motels, massage parlors, discotheques and pubs.
Preteens stream around these places every night, seeking men till
daybreak. There seems to be an increase of these girls, who are
often taken to hotels with rates of about Rp 20,000 per night.

These preteens are also hanging around malls and supermarkets,
usually at cafes or children's play areas. Fewer men seem to be
spending money on sex, which may be why many youngsters are
milling along roads in front of the plazas.

Head of the North Sumatra social affairs office, B. Sihotang,
said he was not sure whether there were more prostitutes since
the crisis. He said there were about 100 women estimated to be
working in each of the at least four red-light areas in Deli
Serdang and Simalungun, apart from the Sicanang island.

An official at the Ministry of Social Affairs' provincial
office said there were no additions to the 60 women in the
rehabilitation home run by the office. The home takes in sex
workers rounded up by security people.

"Since the crisis, we ask them to be patient with the
increasingly modest menu," he said.